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15 Oct 2007 : Column 785Wcontinued
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use by police of pupils' fingerprint data collected by schools; and if she will make a statement. [157282]
Meg Hillier: Using the data collected by schools would not meet the investigative needs of the police or the evidential requirements of the criminal justice system.
Schools are recording only an algorithmic representation of the fingerprint and not the fingerprint itself.
The algorithmic records held by schools are not compatible with the national automated fingerprint system used by police forces.
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many acceptable behaviour contracts were (a) made and (b) breached in each of the last five years. [157381]
Mr. Coaker: Data on acceptable behaviour contracts (ABCs) are not collected by the Home Office as they are voluntary agreements and therefore not suitable for central data collection. However, surveys carried out by the Respect Task Force of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) indicated that over 25,000 ABCs have been made since October 2003. The Home Office recently issued updated and comprehensive guidance for practitioners on the use of ABCs.
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) meetings she has had with the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Executive and (b) discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Executive on proposals to (i) introduce restrictions on the use of airguns and (ii) require licensing of all new sales of airguns; and if she will make a statement. [156841]
Mr. Coaker: The misuse of air weapons in Scotland was one of a number of issues raised when I met with the Cabinet Secretary on 19 July.
The Government are determined to tackle the problem of misuse wherever it takes place and have taken action to tighten up the legislative framework. We worked closely with Scottish Ministers to include provisions in the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 which require businesses selling air weapons to register with the police as firearms dealers and to complete sales face-to-face; increase to 18 the age limit for
buying and possessing air weapons; and make it an offence for any person to fire an air weapon across the boundary of premises.
These measures have only recently come into force and should be given time to take effect before further changes in the law are contemplated. We shall continue to work with Scottish Ministers to ensure communities across the country are protected from all aspects of firearms misuse.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many individuals issued with control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 have had their financial assets frozen; [156300]
(2) how many individuals have been subject to control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005; [156301]
(3) how many individuals issued with control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 have absconded; [156302]
(4) what proportion of individuals who have been issued with control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 are British citizens. [156303]
Jacqui Smith: 30 individuals have been subject to control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. Of these, 11 are British citizens. Seven of the 30 individuals have abscondedincluding an individual who is now in police custody. One of the 30 individuals has had their assets frozen.
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress her Department has made in ensuring that homophobic crimes are dealt with in a sensitive manner. [156757]
Mr. Coaker: In March 2005 we worked with the Association of Chief Police Officers to produce a tactical guide for tackling all hate crime including homophobic hate crime.
In December 2006 we issued further guidance to Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships, specifically aimed at helping practitioners tackle hate crime including homophobic hate crime.
We are currently working to update both of these, which both emphasised the importance of dealing with victims of these crimes in a sensitive manner, and we will be developing further good practice from projects funded through the Victims Fund to tackle hate crime. Through this fund we allocated over £100,000 to projects tackling homophobic hate crime.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many British citizens were extradited to Russia in each of the last five years. [154576]
Jacqui Smith: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office (Meg Hillier), of 3 September 2007, Official Report, column 1843W.
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government have taken to reduce gun crime since June 2007. [155049]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The Government have an ongoing programme of work to tackle gun crime, focusing on the themes of:
Policingensuring the police are equipped to tackle gun crime.
Powersgiving the police and courts the powers to deal with offenders.
Preventionempowering communities to work with local agencies to take action to prevent gun crime and gang culture, and offering support to parents to challenge their children's behaviour.
Nevertheless, there is more that can be done. It was announced on 9 September that the Government, working with the police, other delivery partners and communities, would be taking forward a programme of targeted work in the local areas facing the greatest challenges with respect to gangs and gun crime. The Tackling Gangs Action Programme will focus on neighbourhoods in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Jon Murphy, of Merseyside Police, has been seconded to head up a special team taking forward this work, which will report to a new cross-Government ministerial task force chaired by the Home Secretary.
The task force met for the first time on 19 September and committed to take forward a range of action including using the local area agreement framework to highlight work on guns and gangs at local level; improved data sharing; development of diversionary activities through sport, music and arts; improving measures for witnesses. The on-going programme of work is also informed by the Home Secretary's round table on guns, knives and gangs, which has met nine times since 2003, most recently on 26 June. A further meeting is being planned.
An additional £1 million has been allocated for this work.
The Government have also asked Ken Jones, President of the Association for Chief Police Officers (ACPO), for a report on the scale and nature of the problem in relation to guns and gangs, and proposals for what more the Government, the police and other agencies can do to improve the situation.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidelines she has issued on the use of fixed penalty notices. [154716]
Jacqui Smith: My Department issued in April 2006 Revised Guidance on the Operation of the Fixed Penalty System for Offences in Respect of a Vehicle. The document is available on the Home Office website at:
Overall policy in respect of fixed penalty notices is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice (Mr. Straw).
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if she will make a statement on the theft of the telephone evidence database from Forensic Telecommunications Services Ltd.; [155644]
(2) what assessment she has made of the potential value to terrorist groups of the stolen telephone evidence database from Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd.; [155798]
(3) what discussions officials from her Department have had with Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd. regarding the security of data processed; [155799]
(4) when her Department last made an assessment of the security procedures of Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd.; [155800]
(5) how much the Government spent on the services of Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd. in each year for which records are available; [155801]
(6) which Government Departments and agencies had data compromised during the database robbery from Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd.; and when were those agencies informed of the theft; [155802]
(7) whether her Department has communicated with any foreign governments regarding the theft of the telephone evidence database from Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd. [155803]
Mr. McNulty: On 7 August, offices belonging to the Forensic Telecommunication Services Ltd. in Kent were burgled and computer equipment was removed. That equipment has since been recovered in a police operation. When recovered, an examination of the server referred to by my right hon. Friend was carried out. That examination indicates that the server was not accessed and that no data was compromised. One individual has been arrested in connection with the burglary and I understand this offence has been considered as part of his sentencing. I have asked the chief constable of Kent to write to my right hon. Friend directly regarding this matter.
Home Office officials have been kept informed, as a matter of routine, but have had no direct involvement in this incident. Individual Departments and the police make their own arrangements for handling their protectively marked assets according to relevant security manuals and procedures.
Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children have their DNA details stored on a database. [157295]
Meg Hillier: 317,015 under-18s and 132,465 under-16s had a record on the National DNA Database on 30 September 2007.
Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what work her Department is undertaking to tackle homophobic crimes. [156447]
Mr. Coaker: This Government take all hate crime including homophobic hate crimes very seriously. We have identified five priorities for tackling hate crime:
Increasing reporting
Bringing more offences to justice
Increasing confidence that hate crime will be taken seriously
Using local and national data to understand better the nature and extent of hate crimes
Tackling repeat victimisation.
This June the Government made £250,000 available through the victims fund to tackle hate crime and support victims. Over £100,000 of this money has been awarded to tackling homophobic and transphobic hate crime.
Since April 2007 we have asked the police to flag homophobic and other hate crimes so we can better understand the nature and extent of homophobic hate crime. The Race for Justice Steering Group works to bring more hate crime offences to justice, including homophobic hate crimes. In December 2006 we produced guidance to community safety practitioners to help them tackle homophobic hate crime.
We are also planning to amend the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill to provide for offences to tackle the incitement of hatred on grounds of sexual orientation.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals residing illegally in the UK were charged with criminal offences in each year since 2002. [156306]
Jacqui Smith: The information requested regarding the immigration status of those arrested or charged with a criminal offence is not collated centrally by the Office of Criminal Justice Reform or the Crown Prosecution Service, and as such this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she plans to answer the letter of 12 July from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Ewmid Hasan Abdulla; [156906]
(2) when she plans to answer the letter of 6 August from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on Mr. E. Abdulla. [156907]
Jacqui Smith: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 11 October 2007.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle international money laundering. [157293]
Mr. Coaker: The Government have a comprehensive strategy in place to seize criminal assets and to combat money laundering, with over £300 million recovered over the last three years. We will continue to work closely with our European and international partners, and with industry, to provide global solutions to a global problem.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make a statement on funding for North Yorkshire police in 2008-09. [157709]
Mr. McNulty: The Home Office will announce a Provisional Finance Settlement on the level of funding for the police for the CSR years, 2008-09 to 2010-11, with the local government finance settlement in late November/early December as in previous years.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passengers have been charged with (a) terrorist and (b) other offences following security checks on departing passengers at (i) Heathrow, (ii) Gatwick and (iii) Stansted in each of the last 12 months. [156322]
Mr. McNulty: Information on charges or convictions arising from stops at ports of entry could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Statistics detailing the number of individuals charged under the terrorism legislation are available on the Home Office website at:
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time equivalent (a) police officers and (b) police community support officers there are in each basic command unit. [156668]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is published in the Supplementary Tables of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin 13/07 Police Service Strength, England and Wales, 31 March 2007. A copy is available on the Home Office website at:
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